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Patented luly I2, |898.

L. C. BURGESS.

B R A K E B E A M (Application led Sept. 30, 1897.)

(No Model.)

W/T/VESSES ATTORNEY.

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lliviTnn STATns PATENT Ormea.

LUTHER C. BURGESS, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO TIIE CHICAGO RAILVAY EQUIPMENT COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

BRAKE-BEAM.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 607,016, dated July 12, 1898. Application niet Ysemental 3o, 1897. serai nu. 653,639. no man.)

To @ZZ whom/ it may concern,.-

Be it known that I, LUTHER C. BURenss, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook, State of Illinois, 5 have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Brake-Beams; and I hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in

ro whichy .Y

Figure l is a plan view of a brake-beam, parts broken away to show the features of construction which embody my invention. Figs. 2, 3, and et are enlarged detached views of the end of a compression member, an end sleeve, and a brake-head, respectively, which embody my invention and are arranged in line to indicate the manner in which they are to be set up or combined; and Fig. 5 is an zo enlarged longitudinal sectional view of the said elements when combined or set up in the beam.

Like symbols refer to like parts wherever they occur.

z 5 My invention relates to the construction of that class of trussed metallic brake-beams wherein are combined a tubular compression member, a strut or post, a tension member,

and suitable brake-heads, and is directed'Y 3o more especially to that class in which the tubular compression member is indented or depressed at its ends to avoid slotting the member and to accommodate the ends of the tension member where they pass into the brake- 3 5 heads.

The object of the present invention is to uniformly distribute th e compressive or crush ing force over or throughout the compression member of the structure and to transfer the 4o torsional strains to the tension member.

In carrying out my invention I combine with the tension member and the compression member arcup or sleeve socket having on its interior an inclined offset or iillerblock adapted to engage the rentrant edge of the tubular compression member, and such a construction embodies one feature of my invention.

In order to give the brake-head the desired 5o throw--that is to say, its position relative Lo the plane of the strut or postI and tensionrod required by the height at which the beam is to be hu ng-I provide the sleeve and brakehead with a notch and engaginglug or tongue, whereby the head may be `adjusted and secured in the predetermined position, and such a construction embodies a second feature of my invention.

I will now proceed to describe my invention more fully, so that others skilled in the art to 6o which it appertains may apply the same.

In the drawings,Aindicates the compression member, B the strut, C the tension member, and D D the brake-heads, of a trussed brakebeam, and c c the nuts or equivalent means for securing the several elements, taking the slack out of the beam, and, if desired, giving a camber to the compression member A. rlhe compression member A, which is tubular, is swaged or indented at its ends to forni chan- 7o nels or seats d for the reception of the ends of the tension member C Where the same intersect the compression member A and pass into the brake-heads D D. This swaging or indentation of the periphery of the compression member A to form seats d for the tension-rod carries about one-half, more or less, of the end or edge of the tube within the line of normal cross'sectional contour, as at l, and

such edge I term the reentrant7 edge, and 8o upon such edge the usual brake-head will have no bearing.

To obtain uniform end bearing between the brake-heads D D and the compression member A, I provide a suitable cup or sleeve E, having on its interior an inclined offset, fillerblock 2, or projection whose bearing-face when in position engages the rentrant edge l of the compression memberA, and is in a plane at substantially right angles to the axis of 9o the tension member C where the same passes into the brake-head D, and said sleeve E, if of such length as to require it, is slotted, as at 3, for the entrance of the tension-rod C, and will be perforated diagonally, as at 4, vfor the exit thereof. Upon the exterior of sleeve E is a iiange or partial collar 5, which serves as a shoulder against which the inner edge of the brake-head D abuts or rests when said head is in position on the beam, and the cenroo tral portion of said flange or partial collar 5 for a considerable distance, as at 5, is of such width that it (ora portion of it) can be turned over and down on the brake-head D to form a tongue to engage a notchin the brake-head.

D indicates a brakc-head which may be of the usual pattern, with the exception that at the back and centrally it will be provided with a notch or recess for the reception of such portion of the flange 5 as may constitute a tongue and be turned down into said notch when the brakehead has been applied and adjusted.

The construction of the several parts being of the general character hereinbefore pointed out, they will be combined or set up to constitute a beam as follows: The strut or post B is first applied to the compression member A, then the end cups or sleeves E are applied, so that the filler-blocks or otlsets 2 2 engage or bear on the rentrant edges `1 l of the compression member A, and the slots 3 3 of the sleeves register with the indentations or depressions c a of the compression member A, after which the ends of the tension-rod may be passed through the sleeve, the brake-heads D D applied, and the nuts c c screwed on to secure the parts together. YV hen this has been done, (or before, if preferred, and the proper calculation has been 1n ade,) the brakehead is given the desired position or throw to suit the height at which the beam is to be hung, and that portion of flange 5 opposite the notch (i when the brake-head is in the desired position is turned or driven down into the notch G, and the Abrake -head is thereby fixed at the desired throw.

It will be perfectly evident to one skilled in the art or to the ordinary mechanic that the notch 6 and iiange 5 or locking-tongue may be reversely located, if desired; but as a collar or partial collar 5 is desirable on the sleeve E as a bearin g for the head D it is more convenient to extend the same, as at 5, and

to thus obtain the tongue to engage in the notch G.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Pat ent, is-

l. In a trussed brake-beam, the combination with a tubular compression member having an indentation i'or the reception of the tension member and a rentrant edge formed by said indentation, of an end cup or sleeve provided with an inclined offset or filler-block adapted to engage the rentrant edge of the compression member, and a suitable tension member, substantially as and for the purposes specified.

2. In a trussed brake-beam, the combination with a compression member, and a tension member, of an end sleeve, and a brakehead, said sleeve and head having the one a notch and the other a lauge of greater width than the notch whereby that portion of the flange opposite the notch when the throw of the head is established may be forced into the notch to maintain the throw of the brakehead, substantially as and for the purposes specified.

3. In a trussed brake-bean1, the combination of a tubular compression member having an indentation for the reception of the end of a tension member, aitension member, an end cup or sleeve having a filler-block to engage the rentrant edge of the compression mem ber and a tongue to engage a notch in the brake-head, and a brake-head having a notch with which the tongue on the cud sleeve cngages; substantially as and for the purposes specified.

In testimony whereofI I affix my signature, in presence of two witnesses, this 27th day of September, 1807.

LUTHER C. BURGESS. IVitnesses:

E. T. NVALKER, C. FRANK IIUN'rooN. 

